Hawgust means a lot of things to a lot of people.
But down Hakai way it means something totally different…like one of the last prime time chances to catch (and release) a Wannock River Chinook Salmon in the salt chuck.
When August finally comes around and the Wannock River salmon of Rivers Inlet are making their last push for home to spawn, there are a few good chances to hook into these amazing fish in all their chrome glory. When you’re South of Prince Rupert, there’s a 95% chance of any fish being caught over 50 pounds is in fact a Wannock. Or Wuikinuxv fish, as my buddy and Hereditary Chief Ted Walkus would say.
The Wannock salmon first make land on their Southbound run off Haida Gwaii then Dundas Island outside Prince Rupert. You can try and catch them down Hartley Bay way and around Campania Island headed into Camaano Sound. It’s definitely a guessing game, and one complicated by climate change and availability of feed, but that’s the challenge!
Those same Wannock Chinook make their way down Aristazabal Island and Laredo Sound, through Milbanke Sound and on through Bella Bella. It’s a journey of epic proportions and leads to a big August every year South of Bella and down towards Hakai Luxvbalis Conservancy.
And it’s here, in Hawgust, where you’ll find one of my favourite places to troll and try and land a big Wannock. Last year Jackson Raden and I released a beauty 53-pounder that produced a more than 30-minute battle down Hakai. And each year there are always stories of a magnificent Spider Light fish or big Hakai hawg. It’s a right of passage in these parts, and a salmon troller’s sometimes Super Bowl.
Fishing out of Bella Bella, Shearwater or Denny Island in Heiltsuk Traditional Territory offers fine access to all this fishing, as do a few lodges down in Hakai. It used to be the bastion of cut plug moochers, and you can still find smaller boats committed to the mooch. Bigger boats, down riggers and tackle now often take the place of old mooching style, although the latter still remains incredibly effective. Oftentimes it is easier to release a fish off a spoon or anchovy rig with single hooks.
Nonetheless, this past year provided a couple really hot weeks of fishing down Hakai and we put a few days in as always. It is Hawgust in Hakai after all.
And this…is Big Coast!
